I See Red
by bootsontheground
Summary: After a tough case, Morgan and Prentiss get in an argument about privilege, revealing things about their female colleague that no one on the team knew. Emily needs some comfort afterwards. (JJ/Emily friendship)


A/N: __Hello, my mellow friends. This is a one-shot. **TRIGGER WARNING** for non-explicit description of child abuse and sexual harassment of a minor.

SHOUTOUT to fan-of-fans for letting me adopt this story. Checkout her account for the original. It is awesome and really set fire to my mojo. I hope I did it justice. -boots

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

…

The team had just flown back from a tough case in New York. The images of young, eager college boys mutilated and killed were still seared into their minds. Some handled it in the silence of their own heads and others, frustrated with an outcome filled with death and no justice, hunted aloud for reason.

Morgan was of the latter. Plagued by demons, alcohol, and days of the most miniscule amounts of unsatisfying sleep, his tongue loosened.

They were all gathered in the kitchen, unwilling to leave the sanctuary of the coffee machine to go back to their files and paperwork.

"It makes sense, you know."

"What makes sense?" Reid asked, sipping fervently on his third cup of coffee.

"The unsub- Mitchells. Those kids were oozing privilege. They had no idea how the world worked. They're last names were what got them into that university. They probably had no more skills and intelligence than he did."

Emily's eyes narrowed but she kept her lips sealed. She was really too tired for an argument right now. She'd hurt her head during the case and gotten a mild concussion. Morgan too had broken his arm. Now wasn't the time to confront her partner's idiocy.

JJ rolled her eyes. "That didn't mean they deserved to die."

"I'm not saying they did! No one deserves to die like that, especially not at that age." Morgan shrugged. "I'm just saying rich kids like that should be careful. They should've kept their mouths shut and laid low a little, maybe have a little merit. But instead they flounced their money in front of everybody's faces. They had cars and fancy clothes and took weekend trips on their yachts and posted all that crap online. They were gonna become just like their parents; entitled, privileged asswipes who know shit about the real world."

Emily glared at him. "They were kids, Morgan. They weren't their parents. They couldn't help the fact they were born into money. What did you want them to do- pretend they were poor just to satisfy everyone else?!"

"Let's all relax. We're all tired and not thinking straight. Come on, this work can be done tomorrow. Everybody needs to head home and go to sleep." Hotch said, eyeing his two most bull-headed subordinates.

"I'm just saying, Hotch." Morgan put his hands up defensively. "If they hadn't been such privileged, rich brats, they might still be alive today."

SSA Emily Elizabeth Prentiss looked pissed. Her normally restrained emotions were flashing like police sirens on her face. JJ reached out to grab her but Morgan's remark had shattered a compartment in her mind that could not be put back. She moved into her partner's space, finger digging into his chest. "Rich and privileged, huh? Know nothing about the real world, huh? Hate to break it to you, Derek, but you know nothing about those kids. You're just making fucking biased, prejudiced assumptions about a group of fucking _children_\- some of these kids couldn't even vote yet- because you want to feel better about yourself and how this damn case ended. Well you don't get to put them down just because of your fucking feelings of inadequacy, Derek!"

"Wow. I totally forgot, we've got ourselves a privileged brat in the room too."

Emily pale face turned beet red. "I am not privileged. You know nothing about me or those kids. I know them. I know what they've been through!"

"Emily-"

"Fine, tell us then, oh rich brat-whisperer! What have those kids been through?! Did there Daddys' not buy them the latest model Lambo or something?" Morgan spat out.

"You want to know what being privileged is like? You want to know what it's like to move from country to country and have no friends whatsoever? No one to text when your upset or share your interests with. You want to know what it's like spending every birthday and every holiday with no one but the maids and the cook? You want to know what it's like to eventually realize that they don't care about you either, their just being paid to pretend they do? You want to know what it's like wanting to have someone- anyone- like you _so_ bad you'll do anything just to fit in? You want to know what it's like to go to parties every year with people who talk about you behind your back, who bet on your future, who laugh about you doing drugs or being an easy lay like they're not adults talking about a minor? You want to know what it's like to be forced to dance with men three times your age and brush away every nasty thing they say or do?"

Morgan gulped. He had screwed up and he knew it. He had never seen his bestfriend so upset. "Em-"

"Shut up! You wanted to know, now I'm telling you. If anyone is privileged, it's you Derek Morgan! 'Mr. I've got a Mom and three sisters who give a fuck about me'. Being a rich, privileged- let's not forget entitled- brat means that you don't get that. You don't get to be a kid. You have to know who to talk to, what to say, what not to say- you have to keep yourself in check constantly because there is not a moment of the day where you can assume no one is watching!" She pushed him back into the counter, head throbbing and beads of blood leaking from behind the gauze. "My mother never told me she loved me. My entire family is façade- a lie. We go to functions and we are the Prentiss', a great political power. But then we get home and Father is angry because I told the CEO of some company to take his hands off of my thirteen year old chest. But daughters must be taught respect, so instead of Daddy buying me the latest Lambo he beats me until my mother walks in and then she apologizes for raising a monster like me so he's distracted enough for me to crawl to my room. And why doesn't she divorce him? It's because they're a power couple and he may be a terrible father but he's a great businessman and politician, that's for sure." She scoffed. "Yeah I'm real lucky. Just like those boys were real lucky."

"I shouldn't have said-"

"You probably didn't realize this, Morgan. But never did both parents come to identify the body. It was always just one of them. If it had been me, it would've been my mother. Only David Hilperton had two people come, but that was his two older siblings, not any of his very much alive parents. You know why? Because they grieve for their kids like they would grieve an asset. Everything is business and politics when you're rich, Derek- even your kids." She slumped back, exhaustion overwhelming her body.

Morgan looked at his friend's tired, hollowed eyes. "I'm sorry, Prentiss. I wasn't thinking."

Emily paused. "I don't- I'm not… I'm sorry, Morgan. I didn't mean to get so angry." She swallowed. "It's the lack of sleep." She laughed nervously, eyes lowered. "Good night, I'll see ya'll tomorrow." She quickly gathered her things and walked briskly out of the bullpen.

The team stared at the door Emily had just left through. Emily was an intensely private person. They had known her for four years and yet had not truly known much about her until now. Rossi sighed. It explained a lot about their friend.

Morgan moved to go after his partner, but JJ stopped him. He looked up and saw a rare pissed off Jareau glaring at him. "JJ, I need-"

"What the hell made you think that was okay?! You know Emily hates being made into just her family name. And she fucking never mentions her father so we all knew there had to be some history there. What were you thinking, Morgan? Pointing out her wealth like that? She never talks about herself, especially about her childhood. You made her do that. You made her that upset." JJ looked away, tears welling up. "That was an ass move, Morgan." She shook her head and ran after Emily.

"Mama-bear is right. Our gumdrop never talks about herself like that." Garcia looked disappointedly at Morgan.

Hotch gave Morgan a look and silently left the group for his office. Everyone needed a breather right now. All this would be dealt with tomorrow.

"Emily! Emily, wait!" JJ ran after her bestfriend. Emily's patent boots were echoing in the parking garage.

"I don't feel like talking right now, Jayge." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Then don't talk, just let me be here for you."

"Henry-"

"-is enjoying some Daddy time and won't even notice I'm not there." JJ rebutted. "Don't shut me out, Em. You just had breakdown in there. Emily Elizabeth, I have never seen you breakdown. And I know this isn't just about Morgan's exhaustion-induced assery… What's wrong?"

Emily stopped walking. She rubbed the lingering crusties from her eyes. "Those kids were just like any other kids. Except they weren't. They were rich. And he was right, some of them were probably obnoxious about it."

"That's not an excuse for what Mitchells did, Emily."

"I know that. But they just reminded me of all the kids I knew growing up. All the kids, just like me, who I saw at those damn functions my mother would take me too. Some were like me, and just didn't speak with each other unless our parents prodded us. Others formed groups with unstable friendships. Because how stable can your friendship be when your forced to ignore old men groping your friends. In the end we were all miserable afterthoughts. It just sucks that they barely got to see the wonderful world outside of that before they died."

"It does suck."

Emily unlocked her car and sat in the driver's seat. JJ immediately scooted onto the passenger seat. "What, that's not enough for you?"

"I know you, Em."

"Let it go, Jennifer."

"I love you too much. I won't let you go home and drink yourself into a coma."

"For your information, I don't drink anymore. I quit in Paris."

"Why?"

"It's hard to be paranoid and on constant alert, when you're constantly drunk."

JJ gave her a small smile. "Well congratulations."

Emily laughed. "Don't congratulate me. In turn, I picked up my smoking habit again. Why do you think I've begun wearing perfume so much stronger?"

"Emily!" JJ admonished. "That's cancer on a stick."

"We've all got to die somehow. May as well be cancer."

JJ glared at her friend. "That's not funny."

"I'm fine, Jennifer."

"I don't care if you're fine, Emily. Fine isn't happy. It isn't good. Fine for you is handling it on your own." She grabbed her bestfriend's hand. "Tell me."

Emily looked at her friend. She was so young yet so kind and happy and successful. She probably had great parents. "I went thought the box of my funeral memorabilia. Most of it I got from WitSec, the other stuff I got from you and Reid."

"Reid?"

"That week where he was super pissed. Yeah, I think he was trying to hurt me or something."

"That must've been difficult."

"The Ambassador didn't come. I don't know why I thought she would."

JJ looked away for a moment. "She sent flowers."

"Yeah, I know." She said, lips pursed "First I was mad, because who doesn't come to their daughter's funeral. And then I realized she was posted in Ukraine, and my funeral was during the missile crisis. So, I understood… I understand."

"Emily-"

"But my father didn't come either." She reached over and opened the glove compartment. "He's semi-retired so he doesn't have an excuse. My funeral was on Saturday so I actually know what he was doing while I was buried; he was playing golf." She pulled out a box of cigarettes.

JJ said nothing.

"I love my mother, Jennifer. And I know she loved me as a child, even though she never said it. And I always thought, if anything actually happened- like with those kids- she would be the one to come identify my body." Dark hair swept to cover her face as she bent her head against the steering wheel. "Now I'm not so sure if she loves me anymore."

The blonde liaison took the smokes and put them back in the glove compartment. "She does love you, Emily." She leaned over and tucked the loose strands behind her ear. "When I called to tell her, she started crying. She could barely get out a word at one point, and her assistant had to take the phone. She just kept repeating 'my little girl, my poor little girl'. Her assistant had to get her a drink at one point." JJ smiled. "You don't cry that hard for someone you don't truly love. And that bastard of a father didn't come to your funeral and didn't cry, because he is the monster, not you."

Emily's shoulders began to shake. Silent tears soaking her cheeks. JJ leaned over and pulled her into a hug. "You're going to be okay. Everything will be fine." JJ held Emily close, hugging her with all her might. Everything was going to be alright.

…


End file.
